“Time flies when you’re having fun!” The old saying held true for the Maker’s Row team this week at Texworld USA 2014. This was our first rodeo at one of the biggest textile sourcing destinations in America. Texworld USA offered designers a spacious and modern arena (The Javits Center), brimming with an astonishing array of textiles, fabrics, accessories, and more. Suppliers came to NYC from all over the world to showcase their products, including 36 domestic mills and manufacturers
As a designer, buyer, or supplier, trade shows can make it easy to tally up lots of frequent flyer miles fast. So, deciding where to invest your time and focus is very helpful to your brand and your budget! Here are 5 reasons to grow your brand at Texworld USA:
1. The Locale
The Javits Center is an unbeatable location for any trade show. The moment you step foot inside this enormous building, creative energy is running high, and professionals in the fashion and home textiles industry are in every direction. The atmosphere is professional, modern, and very conducive to business.
Even attending from Brooklyn, it was a stress-free commute everyday. Perfect for reading about the day’s events and scoping out which suppliers we wanted to visit. Sleek SUV shuttles at the end of each day took us directly to Madison Square Garden, making it easy to avoid the six o’clock rush in Manhattan.
The layout of the show was great for networking. Several designers interested in apparel or home goods (bedding was popular), networked at our booth, and swapped business cards, lending helpful hints to one another throughout conversation. The apparel and home section were situated in close vicinity, which allowed some interesting crossover between industries. Some of the mills even showed in both locations.
2. Not just your average powerpoint.
Ranging from topics on “Made in Americas” to “Marketing Your Fashion Brand,” complimentary seminars for designers of all experience levels took place throughout the week at Texworld USA. The panel discussions were “progressive and legitimate,” said designer Dayna Flowers, who attended our Texworld USA cocktail party last night. The talks were conveniently held directly across from the entrances to the exhibitor booths as well, which made it very simple to jump over to anything interesting you may have heard about last minute.
See what others thought about “Made in Americas” where Matthew spoke about today’s market demands supply chain flexibility especially in the U.S. on our Twitter.
You can view a full list of the panel discussions held at Texworld USA here.
3. Tech Know-How
Maker’s Row was one the early adopters of the Texworld USA mobile app, and we were blown away by its user friendly interface. The app is available for free and handles the following:
•General Event Details
•Seminar schedule, along with a list of speakers at each panel.
•Maps of the venue and exhibitor layout.
•Attendee List
•Personal Inbox. We really enjoyed this feature, because it’s the perfect means for communicating quickly with exhibitors, or other attendees at the show.
•A To-Do list, allows you to easily add any suppliers you want to be sure to visit.
•Social Media. Incorporating their Twitter handle, LinkedIn, and Facebook made it a cinch to attract buyers or designers to your booth with announcements, or hear about special promotions before they ended!
Test things out for yourself online.
4. Community
One of the outstanding characteristics of the show was its friendly environment. At a typical trade show as large as this, things can be exciting, but a little overwhelming. This was our first taste of Texworld USA, and not once did we have the slightest trouble.
This July’s show was one of the best trade shows of 2014. From the helpful and kindhearted staff, to the calibre of exhibitors, and technology, Texworld USA is a worthwhile event to accumulate those frequent flyer miles.
*See all of our photos from TexworldUSA here.
